Right before the new year, I ranked every single 2023 movie that I saw over the past year. Of course, there are a good few that I had missed, so I ended up watching a decent amount of them over the weeks surrounding Christmas, as well as catching a few new releases in the theater. So, I figured I’d review these other films, as I’ve got a lot to say about some of them. I’ll also provide an updated overall ranking for the year after I discuss these new entries.

Rebel Moon- Part One: A Child of Fire (3/10)

The story behind Rebel Moon is a weird one; this was initially intended to be Zack Snyder’s Star Wars film, and was in development as such for a long time, and was meant to be a more mature and dark take on the Star Wars universe. This seems right up Snyder’s alley; he loves making dark and violent movies with a lot of unnecessary angst. He eventually got Netflix to pick it up, and it released just a few weeks ago. And, to practically nobody’s surprise, it’s a complete disaster. This is easily one of the worst 2023 films I watched, and is genuinely the worst Snyder movie yet. Snyder completely fails to create a universe that is remotely interesting in any way; it is incredibly obvious that this was supposed to be a Star Wars film, as the good guys are just Rebels and the bad guys are just the Empire. The movie is literally called Rebel Moon. The action scenes remind me a lot of those seen in the Venom films; you can tell that it was made with an R rating in mind, but the studios censored the violence to keep it more ‘family friendly’. Keep in mind, this is still a film where a sexual assault nearly takes place. I have nothing to say about the characters or performances. They’re both incredibly flat, and I can’t even really blame the actors; I think the script just sucks.

I figured that this would probably be bad, especially after I learned that they chopped up and censored his original version, but I never imagined that it could be this much of a mess. His original cut was around three hours and apparently very R-rated, with plenty of the trademark Snyder violence, swearing, and sex. He claims that it is an entirely different film, and because of this, I will probably force myself to watch an even longer version of this terrible movie. Honestly, I’m not sure about this one. Snyder’s Justice League revision did impress me after how much of a mess the original cut was, but I think that Rebel Moon might just be a bad film. I don’t doubt that the second cut will be better, but it probably won’t be by much. Now, besides the poor overall quality of the film, it seems that Netflix is trying to recreate the original hype of the ‘Snyder cut’ by intentionally messing up his movie to market this better cut. I really hope that this doesn’t become common practice, because it would be very bad for the industry. We should not allow these companies to intentionally chop up a movie for the sole purpose of marketing another version of it. Justice League was a one-time thing; it was a fun event to be a part of, but there will never be anything quite like it again, and I can already tell that these companies are trying to recreate it. It’s like the whole ‘Barbenheimer’ thing; I can almost guarantee that studios are going to try releasing two drastically different films on the same day again to create a similar joke. There’s been talk of revisionist cuts of The Rise of Skywalker and the 2016 Suicide Squad, and while I’m not saying that we shouldn’t give directors and artists the chance to make the movie they want, I am saying that we shouldn’t allow corporations to make these cuts just to generate even more profit off of a bad product.

Cobweb (4/10)

Cobweb has some potential that is squandered due to its weak performances and ultimately bland final product. The premise is a fine one, and something that would generally get a solid 6/10 from me due to my appreciation of the horror genre. There are signs of a decent film buried within Cobweb; to my surprise, the cinematography is often quite good, and there were a few shots that really impressed me. Again, the premise is fine, and would get the job done in a normal horror film, but is just a little too predictable. Nothing here will surprise you in any way, and it really does seem like this was made just to be made. It reminds me a lot of this year’s The Boogeyman in this way. I’m not sure if it’s the script or the actors, but I found the performances present to be almost laughable. I haven’t seen The Boys, but I know that Antony Starr is a good actor, so what happened here? Also, why is Antony Starr in this? There is potential for him as a horror villain, as Homelander is a pretty sinister character, but he just isn’t creepy in Cobweb. I won’t make a big deal about the child actors, since they’re children, but they really aren’t great. I was surprised by the appearance of a Busey; Luke Busey is playing the exact type of character you would expect someone related to Jake or Gary Busey to be playing. This isn’t a completely worthless film, but I wouldn’t really recommend it. Even for big horror fans such as myself, this is a fine one to skip. There are plenty of much better films than this with a similar atmosphere (see Hereditary, Insidious, or The Conjuring).

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (4/10)

DC has had a very rough year. Each of their other three films before this one have been a very low 5/10, only redeemed by a few scenes or interesting ideas. Somehow, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom manages to be worse than Shazam! 2, Blue Beetle, and even The Flash. This is a very dull superhero film that will leave your mind the second you walk out of the theater. Nothing about it is even slightly remarkable; the performances don’t bring anything new to the table, the action sucks, the CGI is… fine (which is something that some of DC’s other recent attempts can’t say), and the story isn’t interesting. I wasn’t a huge fan of the first Aquaman either, but there were some worthwhile aspects about it. As a horror fan, James Wan is a director I have a lot of appreciation for, and the first Aquaman still had a lot of his directing charm to it. There was some really neat camerawork, which is a Wan trademark, and some of the action was decent enough. All of that is completely absent from this entry, and I just didn’t care about what was happening while watching this. So, in other words, a very fitting end to the DCU.

Saltburn (5/10)

Spoilers for this one.

Saltburn was something that always mildly interested me; the trailers were very cryptic, and didn’t really tell you what the movie was really going to be like. I heard the prediction that it would be like a ‘preppy Midsommar’ which I doubted, but was still intrigued by the possibility. This is directed by Emerald Fennell, who made Promising Young Woman a couple years ago. I haven’t seen that yet, but it sounds like I would share a lot of the same issues with it that I do with this. See, Emerald Fennell grew up wealthy. She is the daughter of jewellery designer Theo Fennell, and has been very privileged all her life. She has stated how she recognizes this privilege, sure, but at the same time, Saltburn is a movie about a kind and caring wealthy family who is ripped apart by someone of the lower class. It shocks me how many people who I would generally agree with politically have praised this film when its messages are as unsubtle as they are. Besides the film’s very questionable takes on class issues, it somehow manages to come off as pretty racist and homophobic, as well. Barry Keoghan’s character, Oliver, the lower class man that steals the wealth from the rich family, is gay or bisexual to some extent. This aspect of the character only exists so the film can have its ‘shocking’ scenes; many of these scenes exploit Oliver’s homosexuality for the sole purpose of shock value, and utilizes it to make you uncomfortable. On top of this, the only other character that could be seen as an antagonist that goes against the rich people is a black guy who, of course, is a coke addict. Questionable stuff, Emerald.

I will give the film credit for two things: its cinematography and its performances. This is one of the better looking films of the year; many shots utilize lighting very well, and it did keep me from getting bored. Yes, it does look this way for the sole purpose of having stills posted on cinema Twitter accounts, but it looks neat regardless. Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi are pretty good in this, but that’s to be expected. Keoghan has proven himself to me a few times at this point, and I will trust him to deliver a good performance in anything I see him in. Elordi is one of the biggest up-and-coming stars right now, and I’d like to see what else he’s capable of. He was solid here and fantastic in Priscilla, and I think he has a strong career ahead of him. However, it’s easy to forget its strengths when I remember how problematic the rest of Saltburn is. I was severely disappointed by this, and not just because of the issues I’ve already discussed. I really wanted to be shocked by Saltburn; it was being hyped up to be some ultra-disturbing thriller that stuck with you, and I was very unimpressed. I think that this is a lot of people’s first messed-up movie, which is perfectly fine, but if you’ve seen any amount of other horror films that deal with disturbing sexual material, this will be no issue for you. Saltburn did not ‘get me’ in any capacity. I already mentioned Midsommar earlier, so let’s go back to that. Midsommar is very disturbing, and its extremely upsetting violence and sexual content plays a significant role in a great story, and isn’t just there to shock you. And, as one final criticism: this film takes place in 2006, so why are 2007’s Superbad and Flo Rida’s hit 2008 song ‘Low’ in this? A mistake this stupid and avoidable just makes me value the film even less.

Ferrari (7/10)

Somehow, I’ve never seen Heat or Collateral, so Ferrari was actually my first Michael Mann film. Surprisingly, this has kind of flown under the radar. I figured it would be talked about as much as something like Napoleon, as they’re both a case of a veteran director making a drama about a historical figure. This was a little slow at times, but it’s still a fascinating story. It’s well shot, and features some very strong performances. Adam Driver is very good here, but I think the standout is Penelope Cruz. Not only does it show the story of Enzo and Laura Ferrari, but it shows both the positives and negatives that cars have had on humanity; there’s no experience quite like driving a car, but at the same time, an approximate 1.3 million people are killed due to some sort of car accident. There’s one scene in Ferrari that is so shocking and memorable that it saved the film from a 6/10 for me, and is the biggest display of the point I’m trying to make. Genuinely, It’s one of the most horrifying scenes of the year, and the way the characters handle it is almost just as disturbing. This is nowhere near my favorite of 2023, but it’s still worth your time.

Generally, I wouldn’t link a different review of a film that I’m trying to talk about, but this Letterboxd review I came across was very well written and perfectly illustrated my point, so I figured I’d share it.

Reality (8/10)

Something I decided to watch on a whim because I wanted to catch some random releases from this year, Reality really impressed me. This is my first encounter with Sydney Sweeney, and she has more than proven herself just from this film. I’m sure she’s great in Euphoria, but I honestly just don’t have much of a desire to watch that, so I’m glad that she’s getting roles in films like this, and not just big name TV shows or movies. She has a lot of potential, and I hope that she continues to get more roles like this. Reality has one of the most interesting premises of any 2023 film; it takes the exact dialogue from a real recording of an FBI interrogation of Reality Winner (which is her real name), and builds a script off of it. Somehow, this was a story that I had never heard of despite its importance, and this film is a very informative way to learn about the story of Reality Winner. I can’t really say anything about the plot, as it would ruin the fantastic mysterious atmosphere of the film, so I’ll leave it at this: if you want a short, engaging, and well-performed dialogue based drama, make sure to check out Reality.

Godzilla Minus One (8/10)

I was very pleasantly surprised by this film; Godzilla has never really been my thing, but to be fair, I’ve only seen the newer ‘Monsterverse’ entries. I have found all of those besides Kong: Skull Island to be surprisingly boring, mainly because they spend such a large amount of time focusing on the uninteresting human characters. Minus One fixes this issue by providing a case of fleshed-out characters with their own motivations and personalities; the days of soulless Godzilla characters played by big stars are over. Many of the stars in those films have proven themselves to be skilled, but the scripts are so bad that it makes people like Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen, and Vera Farmiga seem talentless. Minus One has a similar story structure, where the vast majority of the runtime is focused on the humans with the occasional glimpse of Godzilla, but it makes it actually engaging to watch. And, of course, any scene with Godzilla is just amazing. His one sequence towards the middle of the film is particularly great, displaying what is genuinely apocalyptic levels of destruction, and showing off some really impressive effects for the low budget. I didn’t love this quite as much as many did, but I still enjoyed it a lot, and can appreciate what it does for Godzilla fans.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (8/10)

Dungeons & Dragons is something I’ve never had a lot of experience with; I’ve played a few hours with my family here and there, but I never got very into it. However, I’ve always loved the concept of the whole thing, and the sense of adventure that comes with it. Honor Among Thieves is not only a really fun adventure film, but a solid screen adaptation of what playing Dungeons & Dragons is like. It’s a shame that this came out in March, because it probably would’ve seen a lot more success if it had released around May or June. I was expecting to like the film, but I ended up having way more fun than I thought it would. The action is decent, but the script is surprisingly funny. I found myself laughing a lot, and being pretty interested in the story, even if it’s not really anything special. However, I was most impressed with how good the effects were; the CGI and digital effects were miles better than any recent Marvel or DC film, which is crazy to me. There are so many fun visuals to look at- the environments are really cool, and a lot of the creature designs are creative and look great. I really have nothing but good things to say about Honor Among Thieves- I would rewatch this at a moment’s notice. I would really love to see some more blockbusters like this. I think we’re all getting tired of mediocre superhero films, and some more lighthearted fantasy or action blockbusters would really do some good.

May December (9/10)

One of my biggest surprises of the year, May December ended up being one of my favorites this year, and I had never heard of it until a few weeks ago. One of the best directed films of the year, May December is simultaneously funny and horrifying. I won’t say a whole ton on this one, as it’s best experienced completely blind; I went in not knowing a thing, and seeing the story slowly be revealed makes for a very memorable experience. This is still fairly new on Netflix, so I’d recommend checking it out while the discussion around it is still hot.

The Iron Claw (9/10)

The story of The Iron Claw is something that I knew basically nothing about going in, but boy, did it hit me like a truck. I really love when actors that have a stigma get to prove themselves; Robert Pattinson has beaten his Twilight stigma with about a dozen different things, Jacob Elordi beat his Kissing Booth stigma, and now Zac Efron has gotten to beat his High School Musical stigma. Half of The Iron Claw is an interesting and admittedly cool biopic about the legendary Von Erich family; it’s filled with needledrops, action, and brothers appreciating each other. The other half is an emotionally devastating drama that will completely destroy you. The filmmakers literally left out a fifth brother from the film because the real life story was too sad. I didn’t really know what to expect going into this, but I ended up really loving it. If this doesn’t get some Oscar attention, I’m going to be very upset. I want best actor, best supporting actor, and best picture nominations. I don’t even care about wrestling, but this is a near masterpiece, and is easily one of my favorites of the year.

The Holdovers (10/10)

What an incredible year for film it has been when The Holdovers is at the bottom of my top 5. I didn’t really know what to think about this when I saw the trailer, but after I saw the amount of praise it was getting, I became very excited to check it out. After waiting and waiting for it to pop up on some service, it finally debuted on Peacock, and I just loved every moment. If you enjoy Christmas movies that appeal to your emotional side that are actual movies and not just Hallmark garbage, The Holdovers could not be an easier recommendation. Paul Giamatti gives a performance worthy of an Oscar nomination, Dominic Sessa gives an insane first-time performance, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph is just a treat to watch interact with the other two. This is an instant holiday classic that I will definitely be watching every December for the rest of my life.

Oppenheimer (10/10)

This was around the #5 spot on my original list; I’ve been saying that I needed to rewatch it since I saw it for the first time, and I finally got the opportunity to. I have already talked about this, but I need to include another spot for it here, because Oppenheimer has become my movie of the year. I had a few criticisms about it before, but they have all disappeared. Christopher Nolan is one of the best directors we have right now, even if he’s seen as something of a baby’s first director. This is a three hour long film composed almost entirely of dialogue, and you will not be bored for a single moment. The pacing is so tight and quick that you don’t even begin to notice the runtime. The performances are the best we’ve ever seen in a Nolan movie, and I will be upset if Cillian Murphy doesn’t win the Oscar. If I were to praise everything phenomenal about Oppenheimer, I’d be here all day. This is quite possibly the best movie of the decade so far, and I strongly recommend you watch it if you somehow haven’t already.

2023 was genuinely one of the best years for film that we’ve had in a long time. The sheer amount of good stuff that’s come out is incredible; just this year, we got new films from Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Christopher Nolan, Michael Mann, Ben Affleck, M. Night Shyamalan, David Fincher, and Wes Anderson. While 2024 definitely won’t be nearly as good, there’s still plenty to look forward to this year; pretty early on, we get Dune Part 2, Furiosa, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, and a new Alien at some point. It seems that this year will be much more franchise-focused, with a lot of seemingly obvious stinkers, but there will still be plenty to see.

Updated Ranking:

#58: Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey

#57: Meg 2: The Trench

#56: Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken

#55: Rebel Moon- Part One: A Child of Fire

#54: Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

#53: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

#52: 65

#51: Cobweb

#50: Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

#49: Paint

#48: Shazam! Fury of the Gods

#47: Blue Beetle

#46: Five Nights at Freddy’s

#45: The Flash

#44: The Boogeyman

#43: Saltburn

#42: The Last Voyage of the Demeter

#41: Insidious: The Red Door

#40: Cocaine Bear

#39: A Haunting in Venice

#38: Renfield

#37: Thanksgiving

#36: Gran Turismo

#35: No One Will Save You

#34: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

#33: The Marvels

#32: The Super Mario Bros. Movie

#31: Elemental

#30: Circus Maximus

#29: Ferrari

#28: The Creator

#27: Guardians of the Galaxy Vo. 3

#26: Creed III

#25: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

#24: Air

#23: Scream VI

#22: Knock at the Cabin

#21: Godzilla Minus One

#20: Reality

#19: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

#18: They Cloned Tyrone

#17: Napoleon

#16: The Killer

#15: Priscilla

#14: Asteroid City

#13: Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret.

#12: Talk To Me

#11: Barbie

#10: Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part One

#9: Evil Dead Rise

#8: May December

#7: The Iron Claw

#6: Skinamarink

#5: The Holdovers

#4: Killers of the Flower Moon

#3: Beau is Afraid

#2: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

#1: Oppenheimer